


Chariot

by captain_shitpost



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Child Death, Isolation, Multi, Polyamory, Soul Absorbtion, Stalking, The human dies in the first chapter and immediately comes back, They get better, graphic death, nobody else dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-04-26 09:18:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14399028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_shitpost/pseuds/captain_shitpost
Summary: A human fell into the underground and Papyrus found them. In order to save their soul Papyrus absorbed it, turning them into a human-monster hybrid. Now the two of them live in the middle of the Snowdin woods, far away from the prying eyes that could report them to King Asgore. Their only connection to the rest of the underground was Sans, until the day they save a quiet Fire monster from a vicious attack. From that day on, their lives changed for the better.





	1. Chapter 1

It’s been 3 days since a human fell to the Underground.

Papyrus listened intently to his surroundings, posture as relaxed as he could fake it, on the lookout for sounds of crunching snow and snapping branches that wasn’t from his own boots. He was deep in the forest and very much alone, having sneaked out of the house while Sans was at one of his jobs. He’d been staying at home for 3 days now without leaving, since school was cancelled and everything was on lockdown as the human was hunted down. He heard stories of one of the humans that fell before massacring over 50 monsters before being struck down, and monsters were terrified of so many dying again. He had promised Sans to stay home, but...

He might be only 13, but he knew he wanted to be a Royal Guard. The Guards were cool and strong, and nobody messed with them! Everyone looked up to them and they were tough enough to protect those in need, and if he became one nobody would dare pick on him! He’d be a hero, the Great and Terrifying Papyrus!!! And if he came to the King with a human Soul, he was certain they would take him in!

He knew many monsters were out for the human, both Guards and random monsters, looking to cash in on the prize the King promised to whomever brought a human back. Many of the Guards were strong, not the least of all the young Captain, but Papyrus knew he was strong too. He didn’t really want to hurt others, even the kids who kept joking in ways he hated and stealing his things, but he figured he could kill a human. Those terrifying, uncivilized beasts from stories, capable of killing 50 monsters even as children, willing to murder not for survival or in self-defense but for amusement. They even dusted those still in their stripes, the one group not even the most corrupt monsters would touch! Humans were terrifying, a scourge to monsterkind as well as their key to freedom. He wasn’t about to be compassionate for them. A hero couldn’t be.

Papyrus slowly and carefully climbed down the almost vertical rock face, the sound of trickling water coming from nearby. Getting to the river was difficult, meaning almost nobody knew how to do it. Papyrus thanked the long hours he spent making traps in the woods for his knowledge of the area. He had an idea-since it’s been days since the human fell down and it still wasn’t captured, and it also wasn’t sighted anywhere in Waterfall, it led Papyrus to brilliantly deduce that the human must still be somewhere in the woods, and probably in one of the areas that were inaccessible to most…like the river! Papyrus “nyeh-heh-he’d” quietly, the sound echoing between the sheer rock cliffs the river cut through. If the Royal Guard wouldn’t take him due to his age, he could become a detective until he was old enough! Certainly better than sitting in class and getting yelled at for drawing traps instead of listening to some boring history class. Maybe if history had more cool heroes like him or Undyne he’d pay more attention.

The crunch of gravel underneath his boots signaled the start of the riverbed. It wasn’t a very large river, but it was very old, if the books explaining how cliff faces come to be were right. Papyrus marched onwards, magic at the ready in case the human ambushed him. He had never seen a human and he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be looking for, but with how powerful they were he was certain he could recognize one immediately!

He stalked on, careful to not slide off the slippery rocks and into the freezing river, trying to be as quiet as possible. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been walking, but his legs were starting to hurt and the sky was getting pretty bright, so it must have been several hours. This was…considerably less cool and exciting than he was hoping for. But! A Royal Guard would never give up so easily! Eventually he saw a bridge connecting the two cliff faces in the distance, far above him, and with an extra spurt of speed stalked on. Ahead of him was the long shadow of the bridge, rocks on both sides of the river in odd shapes and offering plenty of shadow to hide in, making him paranoid. He kept watch of the area, gripping his hands into fists to hide the shaking. He had a strange feeling of not being alone here, and if he wasn’t alone…

He shook his head. He wasn’t frightened! At all!!! He was perfectly ready to find the human and defeat it so he could bring it to Asgore, or to-to kill them, if need be! He was strong, stronger than anyone thought he was, and. And that rock just moved.

He ground to a halt, magic flaring to existence. He stared at the other side of the river where he saw the movement, and quickly noticed that what he thought was a rock was actually a living someone, wearing a grayish-green jacket, oddly well camouflaged. The jacket moved with its inhales but was otherwise still. The creature didn’t notice him, which meant he had the element of surprise…

Papyrus breathed in deeply, then held his breath. It-it had to be the human, right? But maybe it was a monster…He didn’t want to attack a monster by accident, especially if it was an adult. Not only would he get into trouble, despite his stripes, he would lose valuable time running away that could be spent capturing a human! A delicate hand was required here. He took a few steps back, until his back was almost touching the cliffside, and then with a running start he was airborne, the brief exhilaration from his jump over the river making his mouth twitch. He hit the ground with bent knees and a quiet huff, immediately turning towards the moving lump, magic ready to defend himself. The jacket was apparently covering someone, and they certainly didn’t seem to be taking it off, so they must not have noticed him!

With light feet, he creeped across the rocks, slowly to keep his grip on the slippery stone. The creature was just lying there, breathing, and with luck just sleeping. Papyrus summoned a bone to his left hand. He was way better at large-distance combat, but his brother told him to always be prepared for someone to close in. He crept closer, one hand on the rocks to keep him stable, the other gripping the bone in his hand so hard his joints hurt. He was only a few steps away from the lump, and with a keen eye he saw a strange red liquid that covered its pants, its left leg bent at a strange angle. He took a deep breath, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. Its wounds weren’t dusting, and it was such an alien sight to him that he knew immediately the creature wasn’t a monster. He shifted, slowly, silently, standing right above where its head would be if it were a skeleton. He raised the bone in his hand, arm shaking in fear (No, in anticipation! He was excited to be a hero!!!). The bone shook in his hand, and slowly he reached down, counting to three in his mind, then counting again. The third time he counted, he grabbed the jacket on three and yanked it off, bone attacks ready to rain.

The human didn’t jerk or jump. The lack of movement made him freeze in surprise, quickly scrambling away when he realized he’d been standing above a human like a sitting duck monster. He stared at the human, trying to take in all the furless skin and red stains, before the creature scrunched its face, eyes blinking open slowly. They kept looking in front of them, as if they weren’t focusing on anything, before they slowly moved their head, gaze locking onto Papyrus.

His ribcage hurt with the force of his breaths. The human was looking at him. It could see him, and it could jump and kill him in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but dust. God, Sans had no idea he was here. Nobody was going to save him from this. He shifted his weight, afraid to run away and turn his back to it, looking into its eyes as it seemed to be looking into his sockets.

The human took a gasping breath, then coughed, a wet, raspy hack before they focused somewhere in the direction of his skull, then finally onto his face. “C-can you go get my Mom? Please?” they sniffed, another smaller cough escaping them. “I think I’m sick.”

Papyrus blinked once, mind catching up to the situation. The human’s cough was bad. Really bad. And with the way it seemed to have trouble focusing, it must be sick, and possibly hurt. And with the way they asked for their parent, he realized they must be a child. “W-WHERE IS YOUR MOM?” he asked, former plan brushed aside by the sheer oddness of the situation. The human seemed scared. He couldn’t just…ignore that, right?

“I want my Mom, please,” the human hiccoughed, tears starting to pool in their overly shiny, feverish eyes. “I’m scared, I want my Mom, please!”

Papyrus dropped his bone attack slowly, letting it fragment into nothing. He took a few careful steps towards them, hesitating before kneeling next to their head. It took them much longer than it should to focus on him again. Slowly he touched their forehead with the back of his hand, like he’d seen the Innkeeper lady do with her children, and noted that their skin was warm. He had no idea what that meant. It was certainly warmer than he remembered the Dogs being when he pet them, but was this normal for humans? Was it bad??? He didn’t know how skin worked!

The human turned their head and nuzzled their face into his hand. Papyrus felt his soul sputter, his phalanges wet from their eyes leaking into his hand. He didn’t know how to help them. Maybe his brother would know? He was certain this human wasn’t a bad one, not when they were hurt and sick and not running around all…murder-y! Surely Sans couldn’t just ignore that, human or not… Or could he? Human children did get killed after falling down here before. Their souls were necessary for their freedom, and maybe if someone found out where this human was because of him, they might… Surely if he explained everything clearly they wouldn’t just kill them?

It was with a feep sense of fear that he realized that he couldn’t get anyone involved. Not even Sans. He couldn’t risk his brother getting in trouble for covering for him, and he wasn’t sure his brother would help anyways. The freedom that would be one step closer with their Soul might be too tempting. His brother always did like doing as little as possible. Calling the Guards was a lot less work than nursing a human back to health.

He held his hand against the human’s face, thumb absently stroking their cheek like he remembered Sans doing in his fever dreams. The human had settled down, somewhere between unconsciousness and waking, but their breathing was erratic, fast, and every now again they would stop altogether, making Papyrus’ ribcage constrict in panic, and then they would continue, shaky and weak. He took his jacket off and shivered as the snow melted on his bones, but they seemed to settle down a bit from the extra cover, so he couldn’t regret that.

“MY NAME IS PAPYRUS. WHAT IS YOURS?” he asked, receiving no response other than their eyes blinking open for a few seconds. “I’M 13 YEARS OLD. I-I GO TO SCHOOL USUALLY, BUT TODAY IT WAS CLOSED, SO I STAYED AT HOME AND WATCHED TV. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL TOO? HOW OLD ARE YOU ANYWAYS?”

Their mouth opened a few times, gasping for air. “Thirteen,” they mumbled, voice so low it was almost inaudible with the hum of the river nearby.

“WE’RE THE SAME AGE THEN! D-DO YOU LIKE COMIC BOOKS? I FIND SOME IN THE DUMP SOMETIMES, THE HUMANS MAKE REALLY GOOD ONES! DID YOU EVER READ A COMIC?” he asked, tentative optimism in his voice. The human whispered for their mother once more, and then didn’t become coherent again.

Papyrus watched the sky slowly darken, not taking his hand off the human’s face. The human no longer spoke, just occasionally startled, started crying about being in pain or not wanting to die before settling down again. Papyrus, for the first time in his life, thought the world had been cruel to humans. How horrible it was, he reasoned as he wiped his sockets, to die so slowly and in such pain. Monsters dusted, fast and with only a flash of recognition before it was over. To see someone take so long to pass was endlessly soulcrushing.

The wind had just started picking up for the night when the human’s breath petered out finally, a few shallow breaths with too-long pauses before they sighed, their muscles twitching a few times more before they went still. And in a moment, a strange light appeared above their body, blinding him in the ambient darkness. He squinted through his fingers to watch a soul form above the now empty body, brilliant and strange. He’d never seen a soul before. It was beautiful. Awe-inspiring, like the view from the edge of a high cliff or the stars shining brightly in dark caves, and all that splendor fit into a single person.

Papyrus got up, staring at the construct gently bobbing in the air. The King would need this soul to trap it in a glass jar, there to wait until seven humans total fell down and died, alone and afraid, just like this one. Papyrus blinked away tears of frustration and anger and hurt, trembling with the sobs he learned to hold back years ago. This wasn’t fair. They were a kid, just like him. They just wanted to live. And here they were, their body not dusting but forgotten in a mountain, just like all the monsters here. It wasn’t fair.

He jumped as a quiet yet sharp cracking sound was heard, sockets widening when he noticed the soul got a small crack, right at the bottom and extending left, the construct starting to tremble slowly and irregularly. Papyrus flailed, looking around. What was he supposed to do?! He couldn’t contain the soul in anything, and if it shattered like this it would be an utter waste of a precious human soul! If it shattered, the human’s story would end. For all times.

They begged to live. Him. They begged him to help.

The crack grew once again, starting to reach to the other side, so Papyrus extended his hand, touching the not-quite-there surface of the soul and calling out to it with his own. For a short moment, he could feel the soul pulse alongside his, alien and warm.

His bones erupted into what felt like fire, the sudden burning all-encompassing and yet not painful, mind-bending in its quality. He couldn’t feel his body the way he normally did, not the cold or the snowmelt, just the abstract flame and the soul pulsing next to his, off-beat but slowly synchronizing with his own. He had no idea how long the burning, shifting sensation lasted-it could have been seconds, it could have been hours-but eventually the heat eased off, slowly then all at once, leaving him to stumble to his knees and shiver in the freezing air. He panted, trying to catch his breath, to even wrap his head around whatever _that_ was, then he rubbed his hands across his face, trying to get some normal sensation in his body, the phalanges catching oddly on the bone. He wrung his hands as he cupped his face, wondering just why everything was so off-

He stilled completely, then lowered his hands from his face, right next to the ones that were in front of his body. He blinked. It seems he suddenly had 4 arms. With his mind screaming in bafflement, he half-crawled, half-sprinted towards the river, knees clacking loudly on the pebbles as he looked at his reflection. It was as if a stranger was looking back at him. He was still a skeleton, sure, but his teeth were larger, more fang-like, his face slightly different from its normal shape. He turned slightly to the side, surprised at how much larger he looked. The cold air was tickling his bare spine, the shirt he had on before ripped and only reaching his lower ribs, while his pants were closer to shorts now. He looked back and saw that his shoes were mere tatters now, ripped apart by his now clawed feet. He kneeled back on his heels, mind reeling. His body was off, he looked completely different, he felt different. He tried to shake his body out, see how it reacted, and was startled by his newly-formed tail beating the ground, difficult to control. He grabbed it with his upper pair of arms, fanged fingers following the creases and dips in the bone. He didn’t expect to feel the scratching sensation on a limb that didn’t exist just a little while ago, but it felt as normal as scratching his leg or hand. He let the tail-his tail-go, gently curling it around his legs. His hands, as many as they were, all clenched as he thought what to do next.

He was so obviously different. Alien at even the first glance. Would he get in trouble for this? Probably. By law the human soul should have been brought to King Asgore, so by disobeying he was now a criminal. Stripes or no, he was sure he’d get a horrible punishment. So now what? Go to Sans and ask for his help? What if his brother gets hurt trying to help him? He was older now and knew what it meant to have 1 HP. He couldn’t keep thinking of his brother as invulnerable.

He blinked as he felt a pulse in his soul-or to be more precise, from a place overlaying his soul, but not coming from his own. Another pulse came out, sharing confusion and a kind of misplaced curiosity he couldn’t understand. Then, with a distant sense of shock, his body moved without any prompt from him, and he could only see and feel his body slowly, shakily get up and approach the body of the human. His body stood still, Papyrus still feeling that sense of wonder and dread that wasn’t his, then slowly, insecurely, it reached out his hand, stumbling a bit as it bent over and placed his hand on the humans’ face. It slid his fingers down gently, closing their eyes, before withdrawing his hand.

 _What the fuck is going on here_?

Papyrus flinched, his body suddenly listening to him again. He blinked, turned around fast, trying to find where that voice came from. He couldn’t tell which direction it came at all.

 _I’m literally in your body, dude. Don’t know how, but I am. No point looking for me_ , the voice answered, slight irritation bleeding into Papyrus’ soul. He widened his sockets.

 _YOU-YOU’RE THE HUMAN! THE SOUL!_ he exclaimed, flapping his hands in sheer bafflement. _I HAD NO IDEA I’D BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU!_

 _I had no idea I’d somehow be able to look at my own dead body through the eyes of a skeleton, and yet here we are_ , they mumbled, the snarky tone not able to hide how confused and frightened they were. _What happened? I can’t remember things well from before, it’s all murky. I just remember falling down here and being cold and then getting a fever, and I couldn’t think straight…How am I alive?_

Papyrus looked at the humans’ face, noting how peaceful they looked. He might have thought they were sleeping if he didn’t know better. _I FOUND YOU HERE WHILE YOU WERE SICK. I COULDN’T GET HELP, YOU WOULD HAVE JUST BEEN KILLED QUICKER IF YOU WERE FOUND, SO I STAYED WITH YOU, AND WHEN YOU-YOU DIED, I ABSORBED YOUR SOUL,_ he explained, placing one hand on his ribcage. Their souls weren’t physically in his ribcage, of course, but it was the closest he could get to them. _I’M SORRY. YOU ASKED ME TO HELP AND I PANICKED, AND…MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO GET MY BROTHER AFTER ALL. MAYBE HE WOULDN’T HAVE TURNED YOU IN TO THE KING. BUT I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO HELP WITHOUT MAKING IT WORSE. WE’RE STUCK LIKE THIS NOW._

The human was silent, soul pulsing occasionally but giving no emotions away. It was a very alien feeling, being so close to someone. Papyrus didn’t want to admit that it made him feel a bit less lonely. Finally, the human sighed. _Eh, it’s fine. I mean, it’s a lot better than being dead, so I have to thank you. Even if it’ll take some getting used to._

Papyrus felt his body move, shaky and jolty like a marionette as the human took over. He let them for now. It can’t be easy losing your own body, at the very least he could let them move around for a bit. He felt his lower arms cradle the body, then lift it up in a bridal carry, as light as if he was holding a branch. He doubted he would have been able to lift the body before he’d changed, but now it was effortless. _WHAT ARE YOU DOING?_

 _I want to bury my body. It feels weird to just leave it here_ , they explained, a flicker of sadness licking against his soul. He figured it would have been a much stronger sensation if the human wasn’t still so confused.

 _BURY? IN THE GROUND?_ he asked, taking over the legs to walk towards the cliff face. It was odd-the human was controlling the lower set of arms, but he was controlling the legs. The command of his body shifted between them organically, like the river water running between rocks. He tipped his head back and gauged the footholds he could find in the stone. He felt light as a feather, like he could jump up the cliff without a problem. He was so very tempted to do it. _WHEN MONSTERS FALL, WE SPREAD THEIR DUST ON THINGS THAT WERE PRECIOUS TO THEM, SO THEY CAN LIVE ON IN THEM. I GUESS HUMANS CAN’T DO THAT, WHAT WITH THE WHOLE FLESHY BITS AND NO DUST THING GOING ON._

 _Yeah. Plus if you don’t bury-_ the human started, but was cut of by Papyrus crouching and jumping straight up. For a second in the air he thought he could now fly, but eventually he slowed down, then slowly dropped and landed onto a rocky outcrop, digging his newly clawed feet into the dirt hidden in the nooks and crannies of the stone. He looked down the cliff face in wonder. He’d almost cleared the entire cliff in one jump, just a bit left to the top. His excitement were disrupted by a strong pulse of screaming fear and anger. _What the everloving fuck, you can’t just-give me a little warning next time, huh?!_

 _OH, SORRY!_ he answered, a giddy laugh escaping him. _I FEEL SO LIGHT NOW, THOUGH! SO STRONG!_

 _You keep on feeling strong, just don’t do that so suddenly!_ The human grumbled, the rapid fire pulses of fear still going strong. His head turned sharply away from the drop, not by his own volition, and he started climbing the rest of the way up.

 _ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS?_ he asked.

 _I broke both my legs and died from infection because I fell from a height, can you blame me?_ they answered, a kind of subdued anger in their tone. Papyrus nodded absently, climbing over the edge. The human was quiet, a sense of sadness not his own washing over Papyrus. He walked up to the edge of the tree line, the old pines tall and strong.

_IS THIS A GOOD PLACE TO BURY IT?_

_Yeah, sure. Don’t really care where it goes, I just don’t want it to stay in the open,_ the human answered, forlorn. Nothing more was forthcoming from them so he set to work, putting the body to the side gently then dropping to his knees and shoveling snow to the side with his bare hands. He’d have to go back to Snowdin to find a shovel, so it was just him and his arms, as well as the lower pair the human used to help him a few seconds later.

It took a while, the sky going dark as shadow before they were finished. He dropped the body in the new hole just wide and deep enough for it to fit in, then gave his body over to the human to say their goodbyes. It was hard to separate what they were feeling from what he was when he could feel their fear and grief wash over his own soul. He watched them hold their old hand, soft and cold, before they sighed and shoveled the soggy, half-frozen dirt onto it. Some snow on top, and the only traces left of the human were their soul next to his and a pile of upturned snow. He sighed, startled for a moment when the lower pair of arms wrapped around their ribcage. He hesitated for a moment, then gently placed his upper pair of arms over them. The human seemed to have chosen the lower pair of arms as their own-so holding himself like this felt almost like a hug. Strange. He’d never hugged anyone but his brother before.

 _THIS WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT, YOU KNOW. THE KING WANTED YOUR SOUL SO HE COULD BREAK THE BARRIER KEEPING US HERE. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW, EXCEPT GO FIND MY BROTHER_ , he explained, letting go of the lower pair of arms. The human hummed, almost a real sound in his skull.

 _Why did you help me?_ they asked, instead of any sort of insightful and useful idea that he’d been hoping for. He shrugged.

 _YOU WERE SCARED AND I COULD HELP. OF COURSE I DID,_ he answered, turning towards Snowdin. It was night by now, the forest hard to see in. _I HOPE I CAN FIND OUR WAY BACK._

 _You can jump well, just swing off the trees, it will be easier to see if you’re higher up. Go full Tarzan, my dude,_ the human replied. That. Was a good idea, actually! _And don’t just burst into town. You can get into trouble for helping me, right? Make sure nobody sees us._

Papyrus nodded, then, with a cheeky wiggle, launched himself straight in the air, almost overshooting the tree. The human gasped with a sharp sting of fear, but calmed down again when he caught himself on the sturdy branches of the old pines. _THIS IS GOING TO BE SO COOL_ , he said with a wide grin. The human’s laugh echoed through his soul, so he launched himself into the air once again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They grow up.

They hummed a tune, off-key but cheerful as they swirled the frying pan in a small circle. The batter inside followed the movement sluggishly and eventually bubbled, and with a quick flick of the wrist they flipped it over. They grinned, satisfied at yet another perfect-looking pancake, almost ready for the stack.

_CONGRATULATIONS, NOW LET ME LOOK AT WHAT I’M DOING ALREADY_ , Papyrus grumbled, impatient. He could feel the human’s cheeky joy in his soul, taking a last look at where the stack of pancakes was before letting him take control of their skull. He used the brief break of them plating the pancake to finally look at where the temporarily abandoned cup was, pouring boiling water over the tea leaves inside. Immediately he could smell the salty scent filling the kitchen-the human had claimed once before that Sea Tea really did smell like the sea. He put the kettle to the side, noting the human was already tapping their foot. The only downside to having 4 arms was that they often needed to look at what they were doing, and they were both impatient waiting their turns. He wished they’d gotten an extra set of eyes too. This was horribly inefficient.

He strained the tea leaves, dropping them in the trash before grabbing both the tea and the glass of milk he’d poured beforehand. The human grabbed the plate of still steaming pancakes and butter so they could bring them out to the table, ducking underneath the doorway with practiced ease. They put the things on the table, checking to see if something was still missing. Pancakes, butter, warmed syrup, fruit, all there. A glass of milk for him, a cup of tea for the human, and a cup of coffee for Sans when he got up, which better be soon or he’ll kick him out of bed himself. He stretched his arms, the upper pair brushing the ceiling and the lower stretching behind their back, working out the knots from being hunched over the counter for a while. Sans had tried to find higher counters and tables to accommodate them, but with the added growth spurt they went through as they grew older the furniture still ended up too low for them, yet too high for Sans to comfortably use. It predictably ended up as an excuse for him to do less work.

He sighed, rubbing their shoulder. It was snowing heavily outside, but thankfully the wind wasn’t too strong. They’d have to shovel the snow as well as do the usual laundry, dishes and cleaning. He hoped they’d get some more of the wall in their room painted over, but he needed an open window for that and he didn’t want snowdrifts on their bed.

_I can tell you’re thinking of chores_ , the human chimed in, snapping him out of his thoughts. _It’s your birthday, take it easy for a day. Read a book, drink a beer, watch some porn. Sweet 18 and you wanna spend it fixing the buttons on your brother’s jacket? Also, we gotta fix the button on his jacket. Just a reminder._

Papyrus huffed, blushing a little _. I JUST WANT A NICE BREAKFAST DURING WHICH MY BROTHER IS AWAKE AND THEN TO DO THE CHORES BECAUSE WE BOTH KNOW THEY’RE NOT GETTING DONE ON THEIR OWN. THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT FUN_ , he answered. The human mentally shrugged, an impressive feat indeed, and let him straighten the cutlery. It’s something he appreciated about them-they might be a lot more relaxed in their work ethic than him, but they also never made fun of him for being so enthusiastic in straightening everything. And, to be fair, they had a point. He was prone to working until someone stopped him, and after 5 years of sharing a body they knew his limits better than even he did. He sighed. _ALRIGHT, YOU HAVE A POINT. WE’LL TAKE A DAY OFF AFTER BREAKFAST AND DISHES. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?_

He could hear the thump of his brother’s body hitting the floor, signifying that he was now awake. The human hummed in satisfaction. _What do_ you _want to do is the real question, birthday boy. We can watch some of the movies that you like, maybe go for a walk in the forest._

_FOREST, DEFINITELY. I FEEL COOPED UP_ , he complained, glaring at the ceiling. He couldn’t even stretch his arms above their head properly. _MAYBE THE SNOWDIN KIDS ARE PLAYING AND WE CAN WATCH?_

_Whatever you say, hotshot. Maybe they’ll have a snowball fight!_ the human answered, tilting their head after Sans’ bedroom door finally opened. Papyrus pulled a chair out with their tail then sat down, sinking a little too low for comfort. He was used to it though. The shuffling of slippers and an incoherent groan announced Sans’ arrival, so they watched him stumble into the sofa, then his chair before finally managing to pull it out and sit down, head falling to the table.

“GOOD MORNING, SANS! FOR ONCE YOU ARE UP ON TIME, AND WITHOUT MY HELP EVEN! AT THIS RATE YOUR LAZY ASS MIGHT ACTUALLY BECOME A MODEL EMPLOYEE!” Papyrus exclaimed, stacking pancakes on his brother’s plate. “IS THIS MY BIRTHDAY GIFT? THAT YOU’LL ACTUALLY STOP BEING A LAZYBONES AND WORK PROPERLY? WILL YOU EVEN, PERHAPS…STAY AT WORK FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS?! THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!!!”

Sans made a noise while grabbing his fork, face still on the table. His job done, they worked in tandem to make their own pancakes, slathering butter and piling on fruit and syrup until they looked absolutely perfect. With the first forkful, they nodded at the texture. Just a bit overcooked, but the human liked the slightly burnt taste so it worked out. Sans was gently snoring but most of his pancakes were gone by the time they finished with their own, so Papyrus got up and collected their plates, taking the dirty dishes to the kitchen. He rinsed the plates in the sink, humming as he grabbed the dirty pans to add them to the soapy water.

The bright light from outside the window illuminated the kitchen, all the snow outside making it hard to see without squinting. Their house was in the depths of Snowdin forest, right on the edge of a clearing, and there was nothing nearby except for snow and pine trees. Papyrus sighed, melancholy almost palpable in his bones. When they had returned home the night they fused, Sans had switched from fear over his brother missing to terror over their new existence being discovered. When he said Asgore would force them to kill humans, to fight, Papyrus knew he was right. And he knew he couldn’t do it. Papyrus may have talked big, but listening to the human in his head made him realize just how…normal they were. Not the demon from the stories. Not a force of nature. Just a scared, lonely kid, like him. He could never again face a human and see them as anything other than an equal, someone with dreams and fears and interests of their own. He could never kill someone like that. Not an innocent person. Not even if it would give them the Surface.

Sans’ solution was elegant, even if it left a bitter taste in his mouth. While Papyrus hid in the house and learned how to share a body, re-learning all the basic tasks he now had trouble coordinating like walking or tying shoelaces, Sans went out to spread the word that his brother died, killed by the fallen human. Sans tried to protect him from the fallout, but he saw just what despair it brought monsters through the Undernet, that a step towards their freedom-the human soul-was now gone without a trace. Sans played the part of a mourner, finding a shack in the middle of the woods and moving there (in the middle of the night, when no one was around) with the excuse that it was too much, staying in the house his brother used to live in.

It was hard living. The first two years that they were one they cried themselves to sleep almost every night. Guilty for not saving monsterkind, missing the life they left behind, lonely from not being able to talk to anyone but Sans or the occasional monster online, confused and uncomfortable and adjusting, nowhere to escape from the emotions of the other, never a private moment, no place of respite when one of them regretted everything. Then they’d fall asleep with tear tracks down their cheekbones, wake up, wash their face and go about their day once more, and the human would tell him stories of the surface and hold his hand, and he would tell his human that they were kind and gentle and it wasn’t their fault, and he’d help them solve a puzzle when they got stuck or encourage them when they played with their magic, more powerful than any he’d seen before.

They got used to it. Sans still had to go to work, but his suspicious absences from the house shortened and he started spending more time with them, going from pretending that nothing had changed and it was just the two skeletons as it had always been, to talking to the human directly and joking around with them, acknowledging their existence and enjoying their company. Since they couldn’t really go anywhere near other monsters out of fear of being seen, they took up many hobbies, some more and some less common. Woodworking projects that Sans sold, baking and cooking that the human could spend days on, painting the rooms in wild, clashing colours, Papyrus conjuring beautiful landscapes and painting them slowly, with a steady hand, while the human told him old stories from when they were small. Despite their impressive height they learned to be quiet, magic suppressed, and often they’d follow the monsters going through the forest, observe the guards to see how they trained or watched the Snowdin residents go about their lives. Sometimes, they would place a bone attack in just the right place to save someone’s life. They were careful, but still daring.

Now he had turned 18, the age of majority for skeletons, the human had turned 18 several months ago, and he was incredibly grateful that he absorbed their soul. Sometimes it was difficult, thinking about the things he lost, but the idea of the human dying was just about the most painful thing he could imagine now. They were there for him, always keeping him company, always trying to make him happy. He had all his new interests and freedom to explore and strength enough to never worry about dying. He had had big dreams once upon a time, but he realized that this life with just him, the human and Sans was enough. It didn’t take becoming a Guard to find happiness, despite his childhood daydreams. All it took was love. He was glad he learned that, in a world as cruel as this one.

_What are you thinking about? You’re sad and happy at the same time_ , the human asked. Papyrus smiled, drying the plate the human was holding.

_I WAS JUST THINKING HOW HAPPY I AM THAT I MET YOU_ , he answered, feeling his cheeks warm as the human sputtered.

_God, you’re horrible. Terrible. Can you get any more corny?_ they replied, their weak irritation not even close to enough to hide the warmth of their soul, their happiness pulsing to his own. It always left him awestruck, that combination of warmth, exasperation and confusion, as if they couldn’t believe he cared. _I love you too, Papyrus. You’re the best bonefriend I could ask for._

Papyrus’ socket twitched, breaking through the control of their face that the human had. _I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I SAID, YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE AND I HATE YOU._

The human laughed hysterically, out loud at first before Papyrus managed to clamp down on it. He knew Sans was used to random bouts of laughter and screaming from their internal dialogues externalizing by now, but he didn’t want to look _too_ crazy. He still smiled a bit. He loved their unrestrained laughter.

They were just putting away the last of the dried dishes when they heard Sans shuffle behind them, arms wrapping around their spine. Sans yawned, not covering his mouth of course, and squeezed. “happy birthday, bro.”

Papyrus wiggled to turn around in his embrace and bent over, picking him up and hugging him to their chest. Sans didn’t even reach their ribcage when they were standing, and they’d managed to hurt their spine once bending over to hug him. They’d learned their lesson. “THANK YOU, BROTHER! DID YOU LIKE THE BREAKFAST?”

Sans latched onto them like a koala, if the stories the human told him about them were true. He was pretty sure if he let him go he’d stay latched on. “it was berry nice. super sweet of you to make it.”

Papyrus snorted out a nyeh-heh, blaming the laugh completely on the human. “I’D BLAME THE LEVEL OF YOUR HUMOUR ON YOUR LACK OF SLEEP, BUT I ALREADY KNOW THIS IS THE BEST YOU CAN DO.”

“ouch. way to hurt my feelings, bro. I always thought i was pretty humerus,” Sans said with a shit-eating grin. Papyrus groaned, the smile on his face still completely, 100% because of the human. He could feel them laughing at him.

“MAYBE IF I HADN’T HEARD EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR JOKES AT LEAST 70 TIMES BY NOW, I’D BE MORE IMPRESSED. EVEN THE HUMAN IS TIRED.”

Sans shrugged, relaxed. “no they’re not. they think i’m hilarious.”

“Honestly I think your jokes are shit. I just like that they piss Papyrus off,” the human interjected, smile on their face. After all these years, it still weirded Papyrus out to hear his own voice go quiet and controlled, the cadence and pronunciation off from his own but matching the voice he heard in his head. Maybe their speech patterns wouldn’t be so obviously different to an outsider, but to Sans it was like they had a completely different voice than him.

Sans snorted. “yer a real shit, kid. i appreciate you roasting my bro though.”

Papyrus sighed, walking back to the living room with Sans in his arms. He headed towards the couch, about to deposit his brother on it, but taking up the Sans-sized space were two presents wrapped in newspapers, edges sticking out where they weren’t taped down. Papyrus blinked, letting his brother squirm out of his arms and gently putting him on the ground.

Sans scratched the back of his head, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. “got you two some presents. happy sweet 18, bro.”

The human huffed. “Sans, come on. It isn’t my birthday, you really didn’t need to get a present for me.”

“aw, come on. i’d feel bad if my bro got a present and you didn’t. besides, he got a present for your birthday too, right?” Sans explained, walking towards the doorway towards the bedrooms. He hesitated, frowning. “my bad for not being here today, i tried to get out of my shift but couldn’t. i’ll be free in the afternoon so we can do something together then, all right?”

Papyrus beamed, arms on his hips. “OF COURSE, BROTHER! YOU CAN HAVE THE HONOUR OF LISTENING TO ME READ ADVANCED PUZZLE MECHANICS BOOKS AND CRITIQUING THEM! ISN’T THAT GREAT???” he exclaimed, the human giggling at the barest twitch of Sans’ grin, pulling into a grimace. Papyrus knew his brother found puzzles dull. Annoying him was half the fun of reading them. “GO ON NOW, GO GET READY FOR WORK! WE’LL BE FINE FOR TODAY!”

Sans left the room with a shrug, Papyrus reaching for the first present as soon as his back was turned. He ripped the shoddy wrapping off with much enthusiasm, gasping at the collection of paints inside. They were mismatched of course, an intact paint set was hard to find in the underground, but between the paints made underground and some shades from the surface they covered an impressive range of colours. He already had plans for that particular shade of green, especially if he mixed it with some of his old paints.

The human unwrapped the second gift, a book of dessert recipes. They immediately flipped through it, their soul vibrating in excitement from the pictures of glazed cookies and soft pastries. It was hard finding all the ingredients underground, but the human loved baking. In their words, it was useful, fun, and you could eat the leftover batter. And one time they admitted they used to bake with their grandmother, when Papyrus asked why the smell of apples and cinnamon made them almost cry. He already knew they’d be trying out recipes later today.

Once Sans came out of his room dressed in his usual frumpy attire, they gave him a hug goodbye and a well-natured nag and then went back into the house alone, quickly putting away the leftovers. Once done, they put on their boots (custom made to fit their clawed feet) and jacket, and of course his old scarf. They didn’t feel very cold in the snow, given their bony anatomy and all, but Papyrus hated getting his clothes wet so a good jacket was crucial.

They set off into the snow, holding out their hands to catch the falling snowflakes. Thankfully, the snowfall was slowing down into a mere dusting, so Papyrus smiled, knowing Sans would be safer not stuck in a storm. He always worried about him, despite being the younger brother. They were very hard to harm nowadays, while Sans could die if someone sneezed on him with ill intent. It was difficult to accept being coddled by his older sibling in those circumstances.

Papyrus rubbed his hands, then crouched and leapt into a nearby tree, quite a distance away from where he was standing. He smirked as he began jumping from tree to tree, years of practice ensuring the branches barely even rustled. The human was a quiet hum in the back of his mind, off thinking about who knows what. He could ask them what they were daydreaming about, but he decided to keep quiet. With their shared body privacy was very hard to come by.

He leapt off a branch into the sky, landing with a stronger thump onto a branch. He could hear crackling from beneath his feet, so he quickly jumped on, wincing at the sound of the branch collapsing behind him. He did like interrupting the human’s musings, though. He never could predict what they would say when he asked them what they were thinking about-the answers ranged from “I was remembering a movie about lions from when I was a kid” to “what do you think, do we disappear after death?” all the way to “I was planning out how to fap when we get back home”. Sometimes the answer embarrassed him, sometimes it made him think. It always entertained him.

He heard distant sounds of laughter, slowing down. He went on carefully, watching out for weak branches, eyes scanning the ground. Sure enough, a small clearing opened up in front of him, sounds of crunching snow and shrieks echoing through the woods. He settled down, crouching comfortably on the branch, quiet and unnoticeable as a shadow. He watched the two bunny children playing in the snow, the bigger one attempting to build a snowman while the smaller one kept trying to tackle them into the ground. With a lunge, the small bunny ran into their sibling, hard enough to make them accidentally smack the head off the snowman but not hard enough to fell them. He held a hand over his mouth to hold the snickers in. The bigger bunny let out an indignant shriek before giving chase to the smaller, the two running in circles and making a racket.

He felt the human use their magic to check for nearby monsters, relieved when they came up with nothing but the two monsterlings running below them. The woods were relatively safe, but one could never know when someone might think unsupervised children were ripe for the taking. They’d already broken open one trap a monster got caught in, a difficult feat to accomplish without said monster seeing them, and had to break up several fights from their hiding places. Sometimes it felt like they were babysitting anyone that walked into the forest, even if neither of them minded this self-appointed responsibility

The bigger bunny wrestled the smaller one to the ground, their play fighting soon devolving into tickles and screeches. It reminded Papyrus of how Sans used to play with him when they were babybones, before he got his first jobs. Afterwards he still made attempts to engage him, but his brother’s feet would drag and his head would bob from exhaustion and eventually Papyrus stopped asking him to play and started nagging him to rest more and take care of himself. He wanted to be a good brother, and he worried a lot for Sans. That didn’t mean he didn’t miss their playtimes.

He sat down fully, rearranging his legs into a comfortable curl, tail wrapped around them and an arm on the branch above to keep them stable. He never did find friends to play with after he stopped playing with his brother. And then he met the human, and. Well. Now they didn’t really talk to anybody else.

_WE KIND OF WASTED AWAY OUR CHILDHOODS, DIDN’T WE_ , he said, feeling the human’s soul flinch at the sudden speech. _WE’RE NEVER GETTING BACK THOSE YEARS WE COULD HAVE PLAYED WITH OTHER KIDS OR GONE OUT TO PARTY AND FOOL AROUND._

The human kept quiet, their soul humming in thought. _To be fair, given how fucking awkward both of us are, I don’t think we’d have gone to many parties anyways. And besides-we’re both alive and have each other. That’s something._ the human mused, gently stroking the tip of their tail. _It’s rare to see you get into a funk, Pap. Birthday got you thinking?_

_WELL, OFFICIALLY WE’RE BOTH ADULTS NOW. WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED IN OUR CHILDHOODS IS WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED, AND THAT CHAPTER OF OUR LIVES IS CLOSED. IT’S JUST…I KNEW WE’D NEVER HAVE A NORMAL LIFE, BUT IT’S STILL DIFFERENT WHEN THINGS COULD STILL HAPPEN AND WHEN IT’S A DONE DEAL,_ he explained, not quite able to convey this sense of loss in his soul. It was sad to realize a part of your life was over and you missed your opportunities for good.

_Do you regret it?_ they asked, soft and non-judgmental and just the slightest bit hurt. Papyrus frowned, his soul hurting just a little. He knew what they were asking about. They never stopped feeling guilty for what they thought was ruining his life. They never stopped worrying about him. He smiled, huffing very quietly.

_REGRET BEING WITH YOU, MY DEAR? NEVER,_ he answered, his soul ringing with his sincerity. _I NEVER REGRETTED JOINING MY SOUL TO YOURS. I WISH WE COULD HAVE DONE SOME THINGS, BUT I ONLY WISH I COULD HAVE DONE THEM TOGETHER WITH YOU._

The human fell quiet, the fiddling with their tail increasing much like the heat in their face. They both had a bad habit of enjoying making the other squirm, Papyrus thought with a grin. _You corny idiot,_ they said with a sigh, putting their arm, one of the lower ones, over one of his. They didn’t say anything more, but Papyrus could feel the warmth of their soul and that was enough.

The bunny children had apparently exhausted themselves fighting, both lying on their backs and catching their breaths. The smaller one was also making snow angels while singing an off-tune melody. Papyrus wondered if they would try and climb trees again today. He enjoyed watching the little one attempt it time and time again, failing over and over but still getting back up, frown on their face like the trees insulted them. He secretly cheered the little monster on and felt almost as disappointed as them when their older sibling told them it was time to go home.

A guttural laugh sounded from somewhere to the east, making their head snap in that direction and the monsterlings freeze in place. He listened to the sounds, feeling out the area. He frowned at what he felt-six or seven souls, likely adults. The voice he heard quieted down, but he could still hear distant shuffling and talking, and what could have possibly been a punch landing on target. The human made him look back at the kids, their soul tight in sudden anxiety. Papyrus nodded, giving a quick little shake to the tree he was in. The motion made the taller bunny snap into action, grabbing their sibling and running as fast as their feet could carry them. Papyrus followed behind, quiet and unseen in the trees as they stumbled onto the wide path to Snowdin. They ran off in the direction of the town, safer now that they were out in the open and they were in the line of sight of the sentries. The children taken care of, they slinked through the trees, years of learning to move silently and quickly coming to help. The closer they got to the group the easier it was to track, given the amount of upturned snow and jeering he could hear increasing.

He slowed down, coming to a stop in the branches nearly above the group. It was a group of 5 grown monsters, many bearing the manic grins and sturdy, casual yet expensive clothes he had learned to associate with the local thugs. Most of them had high LV and tried to collect money by any means necessary, be it by racketeering, killing for hire or capturing and selling fellow monsters. Snowdin was certainly safer than New Home, but it was remote and expansive enough that the Guards had trouble keeping an eye on the movements of such groups. He leveled a pretty impressive glare at them, even if they couldn’t see it. He was not a fan of the bastards.

_Papyrus. They’re beating someone up,_ the human said, snapping him back to attention. They squinted at the group for a better view. _See that in the middle? It looks like fire._

Papyrus widened his sockets. It was purple fire, obviously magical in origin, and he saw the fire monster on the ground get kicked, a faint sizzling sound audible now that he was paying attention to it. They were lying in the snow, surrounded by other monsters kicking them and throwing the occasional magic attack, and he knew the snow must be hurting them as well. He could hear the mocking laughter and growls of the monsters attacking them, but he couldn’t hear the monster on the ground, and he felt his soul twist when he realized they might have passed out.

The human shifted their body, resting on the balls of their feet, tense as they summoned their magic. They flicked the tip of their tail in agitation, left, then right. _Take the lead, Pap._

He furrowed his brows, planning their attack. He had to break them apart, as quickly as possible. Then shield the fire monster somehow. _I’LL DRAG THEM AWAY FROM THEM, YOU ERECT A CAGE AROUND THE MONSTER ON THE GROUND. WE’LL TRY AND SCARE THEM OFF AFTERWARDS,_ he exclaimed.

He felt the agreeing pulse from the human, so the very next moment he caught a monster in a blue attack, adjusting the gravity to the side and slightly upwards. As soon as they were airborn he switched to the next monster, as well as barraging a third one with bones, unrelenting as they took step after step backwards to avoid the onslaught of attacks. The human pummeled the fourth monster with bones that immediately sent them running into the woods, just before Papyrus managed to fling the fifth monster away. Immediately the human raised a cage around the monster lying curled up on the ground-a layer of cyan bones, over it a layer of regular bone attacks-just as two of the downed monsters got up and scrambled closer, turning wildly to try and spot their attacker.

One monster ran away, two were on the ground, one with injuries to the leg and the other looking very dazed from hitting their head. Papyrus smirked. Two to go. A row of bone shards snapped out of the ground, hurtling towards one of the attackers still on their legs, smirking when they dodged the incoming attack just to get smacked with a second barrage in the back. They fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Papyrus sent out more bone shards to the other monster, not in a row this time but in an irregular pattern, one by one, their appearance impossible to predict but pushing them away from their victim.

“Where the fuck is this cunt?! Where are they hiding?!” screamed the monster that just got hit in the back. Papyrus couldn’t tell what they looked like underneath their clothes, just noted that they had fur.

“It’s the stars-damned Protector, you idiot! We can’t fight that thing! We gotta leave, now!!!” the monster with the injured leg yelled, their voice higher-pitched in their panic. The human laughed on the inside. _The_ _Protector! That’s a new one. I like it a lot better than That Thing anyways. Guess we got a bit of a reputation._

Papyrus smirked, sending out more bone shards out of the ground. He wasn’t trying too hard to hit the monsters anymore, he just kept the attacks going to scare them off. Sure enough, it was working. One of the monsters helped the dazed one to their feet and took off, while the third one kept the fourth one from running off to find him, Papyrus having to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. They were growling mad and screaming obscenities, and their frustration over being utterly decimated by someone they couldn’t even see was amazingly satisfying. The third monster managed to finally drag them off, then they both broke into a run, stumbling from their injuries. Papyrus waited two minutes, listening to the sounds of their frantic footsteps quiet down until all he could hear was the crackling of flames. He sent a last check to see if there was anyone still around, then they jumped down, walking closer to the prone monster. Closing their fist the bone cage shattered into nothing, allowing them to fall to their knees next to the fire monster’s head.

Papyrus frowned at the tiny flames on their head. He could barely feel the heat they gave out, and he knew it was a sign of severe magic depletion, probably caused by their injuries. The human pat them down, checking for breaks or any oddities, and noted one in the hardness of the fire monster’s left hand. Pulling the sleeve back, they winced at the blackened, hard surface, a coal-like material covering the purple glow of hidden flames not strong enough to break through. They pat them further down, allowing Papyrus to watch the monster more closely. They-likely he, actually, going by his outfit-was dressed in a well-tailored suit. The material didn’t seem extravagantly expensive, but it was well-made and fitting. Over it was a heavy, dark coat, covered in holes and gashes, most likely irreparable. Lastly, he saw pieces of glass on his shirt and underneath his back, and lifting him up a tad allowed him to grab a crushed pair of glasses from underneath his body. Papyrus hummed.

“I THINK THIS IS GRILLBY. THAT FRIEND THAT SANS HAS, REMEMBER? HE SAID THAT HE’S A TALL FIRE MONSTER AND WEARS GLASSES. I DOUBT THAT A LOT OF OTHER MONSTERS FIT THAT DESCRIPTION AROUND HERE,” Papyrus said, tucking the glasses in the monster’s inner coat pocket after clearing off the shards from his body. The glass was thoroughly broken, but the frames might be reparable. The human hummed.

“He’s injured and seriously low on magic, Pap, he won’t survive if we leave him here. And that left arm of his is bad. Intense healing might save it, but he’ll probably lose it if he doesn’t get treatment,” the human explained, wrapping him up snuggly in his coat. With a moment of hesitance, they shrugged of their jacket and covered him with it.

“WE CAN’T DUMP HIM OUTSIDE OF SNOWDIN TO BE FOUND. HIS ATTACKERS MIGHT STILL BE THERE, AND SANS MENTIONED HE DOESN’T HAVE FAMILY SO WE CAN’T ALERT THEM,” Papyrus muttered, still more loudly than what the average person would consider muttering. “WE HAVE TO TAKE HIM IN.”

The human was quiet for a while. “That’s pretty risky…The chance of him waking up and seeing us is really high. Not to mention Sans will be mad.”

“WELL WE CAN’T JUST LEAVE HIM TO DIE!” Papyrus exclaimed, putting one arm beneath Grillby’s legs and one underneath his back. The human’s arm shot out to hold his head safely. “WE’LL HANDLE IT SOMEHOW. BUT WE HAVE TO HELP HIM.”

They chuckled, a surprising wave of fondness coming out of their soul. “Figures. Can’t leave anybody to die, huh? Mister Knight in Shining Boots.”

Papyrus blushed, preening just a bit under their strong affection. He set off towards home, careful not to jostle the passed-out fire monster more than necessary, all the while keeping a careful eye on their surroundings. Every now and then, though, he glanced down at Grillby, just to see the way his flames flickered. They both found them mesmerizing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes hello I hope you like this fic and have a wealth of patience for my horrible update schedules.


	3. Chapter 3

“Son of a bitch,” muttered Grillby, pain radiating throughout his body the moment he woke up. His voice sounded like crackles of fire, incomprehensible to most, but he felt a sudden rush of relief at realizing he was still alive and able to speak. It was more than he expected after his run-in with that gang.

He blinked his eyes open, squinting through the pounding headache as he tried to orient himself. The last thing he remembered was being thrown to the ground and having bucketloads of melted snow poured on his arm to torture him, and things got pretty blurry after that. Things were still blurry now, he thought with a grimace, realizing his glasses were gone. He could recollect the sensation of glass shattering on his face, but he couldn’t tell if it was a weird dream or what actually happened. Regardless, it left him seeing blurred shapes instead of clear lines, but even that was enough to realize he’d been carried inside and laid onto a couch instead of left out in the snow. This could be both good or bad-he might have been found by a rare kind soul, or much more likely he was in some sort of storage area for kidnapped monsters.

He tried shifting himself up with his good arm, surprised at the strong but not overwhelming pain in the damaged arm. Sure, it hurt horribly, but it wasn’t passing-out levels of horrible like it had been. He could even flex his fingers. Was he healed while he was out?

He managed to slowly, carefully shift himself upwards, looking around the empty room. He could see it was decently furnished, lots of mismatched knick-knacks around, and rather tidy apart from the assortment of bandages and healing creams on the coffee table. He grabbed one of the plain bandages and stuffed it into his mouth, feeling it burn down to energy and supply magic to his body, easing his headache the slightest bit. Not as nourishing as proper magic infused monster food, but he needed every advantage he could get until he figured out if he’d have to fight his way out.

He heard the click of a door opening to his right, readying his bullets as his magic swirled in preparation. He glared at the shorter monster standing still in the doorway, seeing they carried something but unable to see who they were. He crackled once, loudly, a warning beacon.

“hey, hey, it’s me grillbz. don’t get your panties in a twist,” he heard a familiar, deep voice, trying to connect it to a face. The monster approached, depositing what he realized was a tray on the coffee table, nudging a couple of the bandage rolls off it to make room. “there we go. how you holding up, hot shot?”

Only after he saw those sockets looking up at him did he realize who he was talking to, immediately flushing in shame for his slow reaction time. He may have talked to Sans every single day, but without his glasses, Sans not wearing his iconic jacket that gave him his usual stocky shape and the slight concussion he suspected he had, it seems he didn’t realize it was him. He exhaled, body relaxing as he slumped into the couch, waving his hand in a so-so motion. Well, at least he could relax now. He and Sans had a tentative friendship going-he didn’t trust him to have his back at the risk of his own life, of course, but he knew the skeleton would never harm him without provocation, and he certainly wasn’t open to blackmail or persuasion to get to Grillby. Sans kept to his own, just as Grillby did, and they assuaged their loneliness from time to time when Sans stayed after closing, talking about things that were perhaps too close for just acquaintances. Sans was an asshole, no doubt about it, but not the kind of asshole that would harm people for no reason or for personal gain.

“yeah, figured. you’re lucky you’ll get to keep that arm, yanno? eat this and get yourself home before those fuckers find you here. try fighting in your shape and i’ll have to bust out the dust sweeper,” Sans said, depositing a plate in his lap. Going by the smell, it was some rather aromatic stew. Grillby had no idea Sans could cook. He thought he saw the skeleton grin, even if it was hard to tell when squinting made his headache worse.

Grillby balanced the plate on his lap, freeing his hand to sign, slow and jerky as he frowned at his immobile arm. _“What happened? How did I get here?”_ he asked, eyeing the food. His magic was craving a hearty meal, but his headache was making him queasy. He put his hands down and took the first tentative bite, then put the spoon down to see if it would stay put.

Sans walked away to the nearby kitchen table, shuffling something around. Perhaps some form of fabric? Grillby hated how much his shitty vision weakened him. “what’s the last thing you remember?” he asked, voice still as casual as always, even after apparently nursing his friend from the brink of death.

Grillby hummed as he took another bite of the food, his hunger kicking in even harder now that he had had a taste. What did he remember? Things got blurry after a certain point, but there were a lot of misplaced memories and sensations running through his head, ones he couldn’t pin down and parse if they were real. Being kicked with steel-toed boots. Insults to his parents. Someone attacking the monsters. A cage an inch from his face, either trapping or protecting him, made of…bones? _“Did you scare them away? I remember someone scattered them, and I remember bones…And I remember being carried away,”_ he signed with a frown.

Sans kept quiet for a few seconds, Grillby taking a few more bites as he waited for an answer. He wished he had his glasses. Reading Sans was never easy, but by now he had figured out just a tell or two he had. Finally the short skeleton turned around, approaching him with a bundle in his arms. Grillby sighed in relief when he recognized his cloak, as ripped up as it likely was. He did love that coat. “heh, yep. that was me. hid behind a tree, threw a few bone attacks and then carried you home with blue magic. would have been messy if they found me, but i managed to freak them out.”

Grillby stared at him for a few seconds, then looked back at his stew. Wrong. The story made sense, sure, but he knew in his gut that it was wrong, and if there’s anything that kept him alive in this world for so long it was minding his own business and listening to his instinct. He didn’t know any other monster that used bone attacks, but he could remember being carried off in a pair of strong arms, high above the ground. He remembered it from the warmth he felt, or better yet the absence of the coldness of a blue attack. And there was no way Sans could carry him in his arms.

Grillby nodded to pacify Sans, accepting his answer even if he knew it was a lie. The bone attacks might have been his, but there must have been someone else that carried him here, and if Sans was lying to protect them he wasn’t about to question that. If Sans was hiding someone he likely had a good reason, and he owed him a life debt now. He knew his place, even as his curiosity just burned brighter.

He watched Sans walk around the room, collecting items and depositing them on his coat lying next to him on the couch. He was disappointed to have his glasses handed to him smashed but expressed his gratitude when a pile of cookies in a small bag was deposited next to him. He looked around the room while Sans walked around at a snail’s pace, surprised at just how clean it was. With Sans’ casual disregard for even wearing clean clothes, he didn’t figure his house would be so spick and span, with no clothes on the floor and stacks of books neatly arranged in the bookcase, the perfectly positioned vases or the chairs carefully pulled underneath the kitchen table.

He squinted at the table, puzzled for a moment before his eyes widened. There were two sets of tableware on the table, as if Sans had been preparing to eat dinner with someone. “alright, i think i got all your stuff,” Sans exclaimed, making Grillby jolt a bit. “when you get back home be sure to take good care of that arm. now scram before its morning, hot shot. don’t want that people to see you like this.”

Grillby put the now empty plate on the table, wondering when he’d finished it and if he could get the recipe, then got up with a stagger. His arm was held in place with a sling to immobilize it, so he put his other arm through the sleeve of his jacket and draped the other side over his shoulder. Sans, predictably, watched him struggle with it without helping. He was lucky he was so charming, the man was insufferable. He pocketed all his belongings, soul warmed by the plumpness of cookies in his pocket, then headed towards the door, shambling but as quick as he could. When he glanced out the corner of his eye at the floor before the door, he noticed a pair of boots, much too large to fit Sans’ small frame, or even to fit his own feet. He glanced away quickly so Sans wouldn’t notice his gaze. He really, really wanted to know.

Grillby opened the door himself, figuring Sans wouldn’t open it for him, and shivered as he stepped into the cold. The snowfall was light now, but with his low magic levels he had trouble fighting off the cold. _“Thank you for helping me. I’ll remember it.”_

“eh, no biggie. just get home and rest up, bud. maybe give me a lifetime supply of burgers and fries so we’re even,” Sans said, his grin audible in his voice. Grillby rolled his eyes. Of course Sans wouldn’t take him seriously. He’d still do it, of course-his life was certainly worth more to him than getting paid for a single burger every day, even if he had a strong hunch that Sans didn’t expect him to do it and was just joking. Sans and his weird older brother complex. He heard Sans’ slippers scuff on the rug. “take care of yourself, alright? someone might get upset if you dusted.”

Grillby looked back at him, eyes wide open. He’d never heard Sans sound concerned before. He nodded in understanding, hesitating before going. It was late and the main road wasn’t near, he could tell. Going through these woods alone…He glanced back at Sans, then frowned and turned away, shambling slowly. He couldn’t ask Sans for protection. He wasn’t his family, he wasn’t his lover. It just wasn’t done, at least not between them.

He flinched as Sans’ voice rang through the air. “don’t worry about your walk. you got someone to keep an eye on you,” he said with a smile in his voice before he heard the front door close, the light from inside dying down. Grillby stood still for a moment, shivering. Then he started walking, the snow almost reaching to his knees. If Sans meant to make him relax, he’d failed spectacularly.

It was only when he reached the treeline that he felt someone’s gaze on him, his gut feeling firing full-throttle despite nothing sounding or looking out of the ordinary in the forest. Grillby walked on, careful not to change his speed and alert his follower. He felt his magic coursing through his limbs, ready for an attack even if his energy was so low, and only Sans’ odd warning able to calm him. He obviously knew someone would follow him and said not to worry. It wasn’t those bastards again. Right?

He kept walking, panting from exertion as he plowed through the snow, flames prickling and snapping in agitation, that gaze heavy on the back of his neck. Who was this?! _What_ was this?! This pressure was unlike any he’d felt before. Was his mysterious follower even a monster? They felt like something completely alien, different from anything he’d ever encountered, not cold in the way that high LV could distort a monster or heavy like in monsters with high magic levels. He stared at the ground as his flames illuminated it, hoping he’d see enough not to trip. Was it the person that carried him to Sans’ place? Was that the same person those boots belonged to? How did Sans know it? He knew it couldn’t be his lover, Sans had made that perfectly clear years ago. Friend? One he was close enough to invite to his house and cook for? Could something that felt like that even be a monster?

Grillby frowned, keeping his flames close to himself, as if it would make him smaller. Sans’ house was uncharacteristically tidy and pretty, decorated and cleaned in a way he couldn’t really see the short skeleton going for. Did this person…live with Sans? Odd. It was rare for two unrelated monsters to get along so well, or trust each other in their sleep. He remembered the talk around town that Sans had a brother, but dismissed it immediately as he remembered that he had died as a child. Who even lived in the forest apart from him and a few of the people he saw in his bar?

He stumbled for a second, righting himself and glaring at the floor as if it was at fault, then continued on, not letting his mysterious follower see his expression. There was one being shrouded by mystery that could only be found in the forest, the only one he knew of that had never appeared in Snowdin. The Protector. This odd monster nobody had ever seen, that defended those that crossed the borders to the forest. He idly wondered if perhaps Sans was-no. Sans may be good at keeping himself hidden, but it was more than once that a monster burst into the town proper or his bar and animatedly told them about being saved by the Protector, Sans having been in the bar for hours before that. He couldn’t have been the one to save other monsters. But Grillby had a hunch that he knew this mystery being. Perhaps was even close to them. He frowned, shivering at the feeling of the gaze on the back of his neck, still putting pressure that would make another monster sweat. This was all speculation, of course, but it was a good enough theory for now.

Another one was that Sans was caring for an invalid monster, one that was hidden away while he was in the house, but if that was the case who was looking at him now? He stumbled onto the path to the town, knees shaking underneath his pants. He plowed on, slow but steady, opening the bag of cookies he got and munching down, feeling the coursing of magic through his body strengthen him even if it made his arm sting more. It was frankly unnerving just how quiet his follower was, because Grillby absolutely couldn’t tell there was anyone around apart from the feeling of gut-twisting unease he had. He looked down at the cookies as he grabbed another one. Sans had complained once that he was a really lousy baker. These cookies were delicious.

By the time he stumbled into view of Snowdin, he was starting to get dizzy and close to passing out once more, as well as battling the urge to turn around and set everything ablaze just to get those eyes off of him. He grit his teeth against a groan, walking behind the houses instead of the main road to shelter himself from curious gazes, even though he didn’t expect many at this hour. He managed to stumble to the back door of his bar, slumping on the wall as he fished out the keys from a hidden jacket pocket, finally managing to open the door with shaking hands and carefully, quietly, shutting the door behing him with a click.

He gasped as the heavy weight on his shoulders disappeared, making him stumble back into the door and slide down. Only now in the safety of his home did he let his breathing pick up, his flames burst in terror, clutch his shirt as his chest ached. The gaze he had felt for his entire walk was oppressive, making him feel claustrophobic even in the open, and the sheer magnitude of it only became apparent now that he was safe from it. What was that?! He ran his hand through the flames on his head, shakily exhaling steam. Was Sans serious, that that _thing_ was safe?

He leaned back until his head bumped the door, letting his eyes flutter shut even if he knew he risked falling asleep where he sat. Whatever it was, it didn’t attack him despite plenty of opportunity, and even…even helped him. Saved him. So it wasn’t actively malicious, certainly. But what angle was it playing? What did it get from helping others? What would he have to pay for his life this time? He now owed a life debt to an unknown entity, something he had never seen before and that made him want to throw up in fear just from looking at him.

He breathed deep, letting his flames flare themselves out and quiet down eventually, dragging his eyes open. He needed sleep and nourishment, he couldn’t afford to wait until morning with his arm in such a precarious state. He managed to get on his knees and then stood up, leaning on the door, then slowly walked up the steps to his apartment, grateful that the staircase had a handrail.

The familiar creak of his door and smell of grease and smoke managed to soothe away the last of his anxiety, and without the stress and biting cold keeping him awake he swayed where he stood, having to lean on the wall just to get his coat off. He stumbled to his couch since he was nowhere near awake enough to try and get to his bedroom and grabbed the bottle of peanut oil off his coffee table, wincing as he jostled his arm. He was grateful that for once his habit of stashing food within arm’s reach at any time had proven useful, feeling a jolt of pain surge through his arm as a few more purple flames licked through the coal crust. He laid down, an abandoned pen poking into his side, and let his eyes close for good.

He dreamed of a tall stranger that night, with stars for eyes and long arms that wrapped around his throat.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyways, I know the premise of this fic is a bit confusing, so shoot me a question in the comment section or on [my tumblr](http://captain-shitpost.tumblr.com/) if you want clarification! That said, more background story will be explained in the next chapter. If you need any sort of tag to be added, just ask!  
> Also they're not gonna date Grillby as kids, don't worry.


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